Pain of the Dark
by Sailor Wolf4
Summary: Riku is protecting a princess from her world's enemies and has been on the run with her for over a year. Post KH2 Riku/OC. Rated T for embarrassing bathroom scene.


True Light

The night and the day went together like yin and yang. You cannot have one without the other less there be some horrible shift in the balance. Though many might say that you can have one without the other, but just a different way and I for one agree wholeheartedly. Sins have plagued the world since its beginning and for that we can blame Adam and Eve. Things like love, marriage, and sex have been perverted in ways that we cannot possibly remedy without careful withdrawal.

But we can be encouraged, because we have been given discernment between the two. Many call it light and dark, or good and evil. Many believe that there is a war going on between the two. In one boy's case, Light and dark have been fighting over his hearts for ages.

This boy is seventeen. He had previously given himself to darkness over two years ago and came back to the light around that same time. After that he had been frantically searching for the person who would be his ground; his light. The person who would bring him back from his dark chamber of darkness; his prison.

He never thought that he would ever find her; at least not after his feelings for Kairi had been rejected and she went with his best friend. When that had happened over a year ago, his heart had started to resume the war that had been raging over it for many months before.

When the king had requested his assistance for something, he had obliged by taking up the job without a second thought. It was during that job, when he had found her. Well, it didn't start out like that. It wasn't love at first sight, but he did remember the sarcastic remarks that he had made towards her and the equally dry comebacks she had shot at him. No, he never would have expected his feelings to morph from content to love. Or, at least he thought it was love; he wasn't entirely sure. He hoped it was in any case because he couldn't imagine life without her.

He knew that he shouldn't delve too deep yet. They weren't even dating, and there wasn't much indication that their position would ever change. With his luck, though, he didn't think that it would in any case.

"Hey, Riku-baka, what's with the long face?" asked a feminine voice above where he was sitting.

Riku looked up at her, his aqua eyes becoming the mask of sarcastic content that he always reserved for her.

"Nothing for you too worry about Shorty," he said in his regular dry voice that he only reserved for her; he had to because if he were to let any other emotion out, then she would discover him.

She glared at him and was rewarded with a mocking smirk from his pale lips. Everything about him was pale; she reasoned that it resulted from being over exposed to darkness. She had asked him the reason for his light skin which in all reality, should be tanned. He had answered her curtly; explaining his dark past very briefly, and then walked away.

She had seen the pain in his eyes before he had turned away from her. She had heard the regret in his voice and she had later concluded that he wasn't so much the emotionless bastard she had originally thought.

'_He's also my protector'_ she thought this often when thinking about him; which happened quite a lot.

"How many times do I have to tell you to not call me Shorty?" she inquired in a challenging tone.

Riku took it, "Oh, about nine hundred forty nine times counting this one. Would you prefer koneko instead, or inu-chan?"

She pouted and refrained from stamping her foot, "I prefer Brianna."

"Hime- sama, or Brianna-hime?"

"Brianna!" she snapped.

Riku smirked and leaned onto the table the two of them were sharing.

"You are a princess, hime. I can't change that."

Brianna sat down across from him and rested her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand.

"Hn," she grunted.

Her mind wandered back to the time when they had first met. She had throne and shoe at him, hoping he would go away.

King Mickey had decided that she needed more sufficient protection after the disaster back on earth (her home world). People who insisted on taking the elfin crown away from her hunted mercilessly. She couldn't stay there while the wars were going on, so her mother had sent her to Disney Castle to hide. That had been over a year ago after that particular dimension had recovered from a heartless attack. It was because of the possibility of the enemy from her home world coming to kill her, did the king send for Riku.

It had been almost a hate/hate relationship at the beginning. Brianna felt that now she and Riku had been in hiding for some time now, they finally made it to friend status. He still annoyed her to death, though and he never showed any emotion other then his sarcastic dry look.

Sometimes, he would release his mask long enough for her to see the pain and sadness that he felt. When she was able to see it, her heart throbbed and she wanted him to be back to his old self. She never inquired about what pained him. She didn't want to intrude and besides, it wasn't like they were even married let along dating. Still she wished that she could heal his pain and turn it into something less agonizing.

Now, they were in an inn somewhere in a world called Meridian. The queen was decent enough and had allowed them lodging outside of the castle. It made it easier to confuse the people looking for Brianna; after all she was a princess and princesses lived in castles strictly speaking.

"Hime-sama, what do you want to eat?" asked Riku.

Brianna shrugged, "Something with meat in it. I don't really care."

Riku stared at her for a second, his mask lowering just a second to show his confusion and worry. She usually ordered something specifically and she usually glanced at the menu before doing so.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I… just miss home," she replied in a dead tone still thinking about him.

Riku gave her a suspicious look before reapplying his emotional mask.

"Brianna, were you engaged before you had to leave?" he asked.

She shook her head, "Before the wars, I had been courting a prince from our neighboring allay on earth. I had broken it off right before the war had hit us. He had never really seemed interested in me."

Riku opened his mouth to voice his thoughts, but Brianna beet him to it, "You think that the prince is the reason for the war being started? I believe so too. He seemed to have only wanted my crown when we had been dating and didn't take my rejection very well. But the problem is that I have no way to prove that it was him, so the war will continue."

Riku stared at her for a few seconds before turning his heads towards one of the maids that was walking towards them. She gave Riku what she thought to be an alluring look, but only succeeded in making her look like she had a mental disorder.

"What would you like to eat my kind sir?" she asked Riku.

Brianna felt the twinge of jealousy for a second before pushing it down. Riku made his order and inquired after Brianna's needs before allowing the maid to leave the area for the kitchens.

"Thanks," muttered Brianna.

Riku raised an eyebrow, "For what?"

Brianna shrugged, "The maid seemed to have her sights set on you for a while and when she took your order she was about to leave before I could say anything. I appreciate whether intentional or not."

Riku opened his mouth slightly and let out a strangled sound. He couldn't find the words to give her for reply and he was sure that his mask had dropped again.

"How do you do that?" he asked after regaining the use of his vocal chords.

She shot him and inquiring look and Riku knew that he had to explain.

"You just… never mind," he muttered and his mask was back in place.

Brianna studied him for a second before asking the question she had wanted to ask him for months.

"Why do you choose to not show your feelings?" she asked.

Riku gave her a guarded look, "What do you mean?"

Brianna shrugged and leaned back, "You're always trying to distance yourself from those around you. You do that to me a lot and by now I would think that we would at least be comfortable around each other. It's almost as if you don't trust me enough to understand."

Riku sighed at stared at her with blank eyes; a result of his mental wall.

"You can't understand, Brianna and you never will be able to. You've never gone through what I have gone through to know. You're still untainted, unlike me. I've told you that I had given myself to the darkness twice already before now and all of my reasons were because of people close to me. I don't want to repeat the experience," he explained in a calm voice.

Riku saw the pity in her eyes and was taken aback. He didn't expect that reaction; he had expected her to argue.

"Maybe that's why I want to understand. I can't unless you tell me the details," her voice was calm and serene.

He turned his head away from her to hide how she had broken his mask again.

"I don't want pity," he muttered.

Brianna sighed and stood up, "Too bad, I can't help it. I'm not hungry, send my food back"

She walked away from the table and Riku knew that he had hurt her again. They had this conversation before and it had always turned out the same; she walked away offended and hurt. He always ended up hurting people he tried to get close to even if they denied it. Plus, he didn't want her to know his heart because he didn't want to taint the purity of hers.

"Maybe, it is my fault. She won't love someone who hurts her like this," he muttered under his breath as the maid came back with the requested food.

_While Riku Ate…_

Brianna sat on her bed thinking of him. Why was he so distant? Was his past so regrettable that he couldn't say anything about it?

She bit her lip and she lay down on her bed and tried to get some sleep. She was, despite what she had told Riku, hungry but she kept the feeling at bay.

Riku… she did feel something more then friendship for him, though what it was, she wasn't sure. She wished that she knew, though. On that last thought, she blacked out into sleep.

_With Riku…_

Riku walked into the room that they both shared and looked at the still form under the wool covers; asleep. He looked down at the plate of food that he had saved for her, shrugged, and set it down on the nightstand beside her. Then he made towards the bath area to bathe.

When he slipped into the hot water that was always re-filled by the hour and constantly heated, he began to relax and let it soak into his tired bones. He needed this.

After thirty minutes, where he took the time to wash his silver hair, Riku got out and began to dry himself with a towel. It was then, much to his luck, that the door opened and Brianna stood in the door way shocked.

Riku stared at her reddening face, then realized that he was naked and showing a very embarrassing frontal part of his body. He blushed and covered himself up while Brianna covered her eyes.

"Sorry!" she squeaked and turned away.

Riku felt his cheeks grow hotter at the thought of the color on Brianna's face when she had seen him.

"No problem, hime," he muttered and began to search for his clothes.

"I wanted to…"

"Hime-sama…"

"I… I… was going…"

"Brianna-hime…"

"I'm sorry… I…"

"BRIANNA!"

She quieted down and glanced towards his now half dressed figure; pants and belt. Her face was beet red and her golden hair looked messy and wild. Riku felt the perverted thoughts begin to enter his mind and quickly pushed them back. He was not going to think about her like that.

"Brianna, it's okay, I understand. You didn't know that I was in here and I am sorry for not locking the door," he said gently.

She nodded and leaned against the wall. Her eyes were still glued shut and Riku rolled his eyes.

"Brianna, I'm not naked anymore," he said.

"That's not it. I'm trying to get the image out of my head," she muttered.

Riku couldn't help what he was about to say next.

"Ah, so you liked it?" his voice sounded smooth and husky.

For his question, he had to dodge and shoe; his shoe. He began to laugh then. This reminded him about what had happened with Sora and Kairi a little while after they had gotten back to the islands.

"What the Hell is so funny?" she asked angrily.

"Sorry, hime, but this just reminded me about what had happened to my best friends a few months ago before I had left," he saw the look on her face and realized she wasn't at the laughing stage yet, "Come on, Hime, this wasn't so bad it's not like you haven't seen…"

Brianna was giving him and annoyed look along with a rosy blush to adorn her cheeks and realization dawned on him. Of course!

"You've never seen a naked man before, have you?" he asked.

She shook her head and turned away from him refusing to speak. He sighed and placed a hand on her tense shoulder.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't know."

She looked up at him and sighed, "I'm sorry too, I should have knocked."

Riku smiled and offered her his hand.

"We'll share the blame then. That way there is no arguing over who gets it."

She nodded and allowed him to help her up.

"You smiled, for a change," she stated.

Riku was caught off guard by her statement and stared at her for a while before answering.

"Yeah, I guess I did. Are you… happy about it?" he asked.

Brianna nodded and kissed his cheek; blushing at her sudden action while doing so. It had been a subconscious move. When she drew back she caught a hint of red adorning Riku's cheeks before his mask returned to hide his emotions. She pouted.

"You need to stop doing that," she muttered.

"Doing what?"

Brianna sat down on the bed and leaned her body weight on one arm.

"You're always trying to act dry and emotionless. It's not healthy Riku," she explained in a low voice.

Riku sighed and turned his head away from her, "You don't want to know me, Brianna. I'm too full of sin and darkness for you to see my true self."

Brianna gazed up at him; pity overwhelming her mind and features and she stood up and walked up to him; it was only a few steps, but enough to proclaim walking distance. She turned his face so that he could look at her and took a breath.

"Riku, I know that we've fought like cat's and dogs in the past. You get on my nerves and many times make me want to hit you, but…" she glanced down for a second trying to find words to form her request, "I want to know who you really are. I know that you can see what and who I am, but I want to know what you are like; truly like."

Riku felt terror grip his heart and he backed away shaking his head, "No, hime, please don't ask me this."

He still kept the mask in place, but his voice betrayed his panic. Brianna gave him a hurt look before moving back to her spot on the bed and lying down.

"I understand, then. Goodnight," her voice didn't hide the hurt she felt.

Riku opened his mouth then shut it. He knew better then to argue, it would only make things worse. He nodded and moved towards his mat on the other side of the room.

"I'm sorry, Brianna," he muttered and laid down trying to force sleep into his pain filled mind.

He hurt so many people who were willing to help him and Brianna was one of them.

_The Next Day…_

Brianna woke up to the food plate being set down beside her. She looked up to see Riku walking towards his mat and sitting down on it with a frown on his face. His mask was still in place, but not as thick as it had been and she could tell that he was troubled. What troubled him, she didn't know and she wanted to find out.

"Riku is something wrong?" she asked.

He looked at her and sighed, "You don't want to know."

Brianna was beginning to get angry. This was just getting ridiculous! She got up out of bed stomped forwards and grabbed his shirt; lifting him up as much as she could.

"You're being stupid! If I didn't want to know then I wouldn't have asked!" she yelled into his face.

He gained his balance and stood up, towering over her and grabbed both of her wrists.

"Maybe I'm trying to protect you from myself; ever think of that? No you wouldn't because you seem to have this allusion in you mind that you can help me when I know that no one can!" he yelled back.

She broke one of her hands away from his hand and slapped him across the face.

"You're just a self absorbed prick!" she shrieked, holding back tears.

Riku stood there in shock. He would have never expected her to slap him like that. She was a princess after all, why would she slap him? It wasn't proper princess etiquette. Then again, she wasn't a human princess.

Still… the slap hurt him in more ways then one.

He closed his eyes as the tears of his stressed heart began to well up inside of his eyes. Brianna noticed this and suddenly felt guilty.

"Riku, I'm sorry, I was mad and…" he cut her off.

"No you're right. I am self absorbed. Thanks to you I now understand why I hurt others. It's because I…" his voice cracked… "I try to bottle up everything that I feel and keep it inside. When you never asked me what was wrong, or just noticed that I was troubled, but didn't budge I took advantage of the luxury and teased you for being so open. I'm sorry that I hurt you."

Brianna could see that he was on the verge of tears, so she placed her hand on his shoulder and tried to smile.

"Riku, I forgive you and I'm sorry for prying. It's not my business and I shouldn't make it so. Forgive me," she stated rather then asked.

Riku bit his lip and sighed, "It's not fair. My best friend gets the least complicated life and I have all of these sins to atone for."

"You chose to commit those crimes, Riku, he didn't commit them for you," she reasoned.

Riku finally let his mask drop and pulled her into a hug and cried. The pain was bond to come out sooner or later and Brianna was there to help him in anyway she could. She stood there and returned the hug, a feeling in the pit of her stomach welled up inside of her and she didn't know what it was. The affection she felt for him couldn't be love, could it?

"I can't… I can't imagine…" Riku tired to speak, but trailed off when he couldn't finish the words that he wanted to form in his head.

Brianna waited for him to continue, but he didn't say anything after that, though his occasional sob escaped his lips into her neck where he had buried his face.

Then she felt the presence of her enemies in the vicinity and pulled back in alarm. Riku looked down at her in shock for a second before sensing the same thing. He cursed and grabbed her hand.

"We'll find a place to eat in the next world and a change of clothes. Let's go now," he said; pulling himself together.

She nodded and concentrated her power into teleportation into the next world. Way for her enemies to ruin a good moment.

Author's Note:

Well, do you guys want a sequel? Review and tell me what you think. No, I mean it, TELL ME please?


End file.
